Why are people so stuborn about giving info to law enforcement if they are not violating any laws??
It's called the fourth amendment. It's in the bill of rights.
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
"The
Fourth Amendment (
Amendment IV) to the
United States Constitution is the part of the
Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable
searches and seizures and requires any
warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by
probable cause. It was adopted in response to the abuse of the
writ of assistance, a type of general
search warrant issued by the
British government and a major source of tension in
pre-Revolutionary America."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
In general, customs writs of assistance served as general
search warrants that did not expire, allowing customs officials to search anywhere for smuggled goods without having to obtain a specific warrant. These writs became controversial when they were issued by courts in
British America in the 1760s, especially the
Province of Massachusetts Bay. Controversy over these general writs of assistance inspired the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which forbids general search warrants in the United States.
General writs of assistance played an important role in the increasing tensions that led to the
American Revolution and the creation of the United States of America. In 1760, Great Britain began to enforce some of the provisions of the
Navigation Acts by granting customs officers these writs. In
New England, smuggling had become common. However, officers could not search a person's property without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the writs violated their
rights as British subjects. The colonists had several problems with these writs. They were permanent and even transferable: the holder of a writ could assign it to another. Any place could be searched at the whim of the holder, and searchers were not responsible for any damage they caused. This put anyone who had such a writ above the law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writ_of_assistance